I've been steadily losing around 2 lbs a week since I started calorie counting. I knew it would get harder to lose weight as I started to lose weight because there's less, well, mass, to help fuel the effort. Luckily, I had lost 25 lbs without any plateaus or any problems. 25 lbs in 3 months isn't bad!
Now fast forward to the past 2 weeks. Two weeks of not losing weight does not always signify a plateau, but after one has been steadily losing weight, not losing any for a week is a little weird. Of course, then starts the constant weigh-ins and the semi-doubt that something is wrong. Unfortunately for me, it was even more baffling because I've been maintaining my calorie count (1,200 calories) and I was still exercising to get to that calorie count. I wasn't snacking and I was eating pretty well. WHY WASN'T I LOSING WEIGHT?! It's not like my calorie count could be any less!
For a while, Chris always scolds at me, "It's better to eat more and exercise than to eat less." I know the reasoning behind that because you don't want your body to go into starvation mode, which means your body won't lose weight well because it's trying to store it. It can also be harmful for you as your body will start to break down muscles and lower bodily functions to preserve energy. But I'm careful to not eat less than 1,150 calories. It's about 50 calories less than what I should be at, but if you're not hungry, why eat? I usually end up eating candy instead to make up calories and it was pretty rare I was below 1,200.
I will say, with my FitBit, it says I'm walking and moving several HUNDRED more calories than I'm even adding in when I exercise. Because I had been losing weight before the FitBit and I'm not sure how "accurate" the FitBit is, I've mostly ignored the extra exercise calories burned the FitBit gives me. It also varies depending on how active I've been in a day. So, it's not something I use reliably and it's not something I count into my daily calories intake or outtake.
So, anyway, I was eating less and I wasn't as hungry. I was actually doing that "on my own" and wasn't because of an eating pattern or anything. I had gotten to the point where it was hard to eat more than 1,300 calories because I wasn't used to it and it felt "hard" to eat! I was eating, but eating when your body is saying it's not hungry is seriously hard to do. I was also eating breakfast regularly, which makes a difference in how full I feel the rest of the day. I still can't eat right away, but I try to eat within an hour to an hour-and-a-half of waking up.
Where does this leave me with my plateau? Here are the possibilities of why I plateaued:
1) I had gone into starvation mode.
2) I was building muscle more than I was losing fat.
3) I was retaining water (high sodium foods (i.e., beef sticks...yummy...), that-time-of-month, not drinking enough fluids, etc)
What's my conclusion on why? Maybe a little of all 3? I will say, the best thing out of the plateau, that I broke the past few days (phew!), is my starvation mode possibility. I never took into account the FitBit calories and I'm still not, but to help myself, semi-account for the FitBit, and make my bodily functions feel more "secure" that it IS getting food, I've decided my minimum calorie intake is 1,400 calories. This does 2 things by making me eat and exercise more. I'm also trying to stop my calorie count between 1,200 and 1,250. This will try and make it so I don't go below 1,200 anymore. Past few days, it's been more like 1,200-1,230. I was also getting lazy exercising when I was eating so close to 1,200 calories. I was walking on the elliptical a lot and kind of half moving, which isn't helpful. So I'm back to actually jogging and trying to "put" myself into my exercise now. Plus, I'm pretty sure holding my cell phone in my hand while on the elliptical has caused poor posture and is why the spot between my shoulder blades is SERIOUSLY messed up (never good when your chiropractor thinks you really did mess it up and he has to adjust the same spot 3 times in one visit...).
So, I'm thinking it was a combination of things for my plateau, but I'm proud I didn't lose all hope. Losing weight isn't easy for me. I was really bummed and frustrated for a week. More exercise doesn't make me happy (it's such a pain!), but it'll be good for me. I have noticed with eating more that my stomach must have shrunk because it feels super "full" now than it did before by the time dinner comes around.
There was another way I could get my body jump started again. I could do an alternating schedule of 2-3 days of the minimum calories (1,200) and one day of something high like 1,600 calories. It shocks your system and lets it know it's getting food so it'll start dropping the weight. In other words, every few days of a high count makes it so it doesn't get into a pattern that it'll always receive less. It's something I might consider if I plateau again, but the roller coaster is something that's harder for me to follow since this still doesn't come instinctively. Mostly, I'm learning that losing weight is about NOT getting into a pattern! You get lazy and your body starts to anticipate it. Who'd of thunk?
Anyway, personal update! Well, sort of. As I've posted before (several times), I've been cooking more. My biggest problem has been breakfasts. I function better with a breakfast I've found. Who'd of thought? The person who is STILL not a morning person and never ate breakfast, now almost depends on a breakfast in the morning? Yeah. Me neither. Starting the calorie counting, I did the flavored yogurt (I did plain fat free Greek with a tablespoon or 2 of jelly mixed in) and granola. It kept me full for a while, but I got tired of it pretty quickly. Round 2 was no breakfast at all. Round 3 was homemade breakfast casseroles that were not particularly healthy, but they were tasty! Round 4 were green smoothies (of all sorts of varieties: kale, spinach, pineapple, banana, strawberry, cucumber, zucchini, almond butter, almond milk, apple, etc). Now, Round 5 is oatmeal!
Not just any oatmeal. I did do a warm apple cinnamon oatmeal in the crockpot and would reheat it in the morning, but...I got into overnight oats! Seriously, I thought it would be gross because it looks like cold oat mush and everyone eats oatmeal warm, right? Well, I took a chance and made a banana peanut butter one and it was delicious! Now I want to eat it all the time. Figures. :) It's easy to make and tastes good. Best thing? I can make it the night before and throw it into my lunch bag for work. Actually, every breakfast thing I ate/made has always been something I can pack for work the night before (that hating mornings thing and all :P ). It also stores in the refrigerator for a couple of days so I make 2-3 servings (~1 cup) at once. Hopefully I can get a few weeks out of this regimen and then I think I'll go back to the smoothies again.
Here's the recipe I started with...
Now, a REAL personal update. The Breeders' Cup is in 1.5 months! Yes! It should be a really good one this year. It's unfortunate the Breeders' Cup Classic winner from last year isn't going to be there (he was injured), but there should be a lot of other great horses. Should be a great day! So, I'm excited. I got my dress from Goodwill that goes with my green and purple California Chrome hat and I've got shoes and a sweater that already go with it. So, I'm set on the outfit department. I just need to figure out my hair. I cut it and that hat is different than my last one so I need to look at hair styles. I might be lazy and just do a half-up and half-down look. It's quick, easy, will fit with the hat, etc.
Work has been okay. Some changes have been happening. I don't think I mentioned this, but we have a new boss for our area. So there has been that change and then we also have new trainees that work with us through a County program. So, it's been interesting, but nothing bad. On top of it all, Halloween! We've already set everything up for Halloween. It's been crazy, but the best Halloween set-up we've had since we've opened so that's been nice. The anxiety it induced the last 2 years is definitely not around this time so it's been more enjoyable.
Movies, I'm still watching them. At this rate, I might as well just do a massive recap at the end of the year that encompasses everything. :P I've been so bad this year! Then again, I feel like I have less time to actually blog too. Working, cooking dinner, prepping dinners, exercising, taking care of the pets, painting my nails...they all take up most of my evenings! I get my days off and they're planned solidly. Recent favorite...I surprisingly really liked Divergent. I was surprised. Perhaps it's because my expectations were low for it since I didn't like the book (never read past #1), but I liked the movie. I'd watch the 2nd one...on DVD... :P My resounding endorsement there! It's a solid movie, though. It's not as good as Hunger Games, but it pleasantly passed the time. Four is way too old compared to the book. The end is changed a bit too, but they always do that. So, it has its issues, but it wasn't terrible. Haven't seen a movie in theater in a while now. I think Guardians of the Galaxy was the last one I saw and I liked it. It was good. Not the best Marvel, but I'm really happy it's done as well as it has and I might buy it on DVD (it was that good). Plus...BABY GROOT! :P Noah is shaping up to be the worst movie of the year...
With that, I can't think of anything else going on so I think I'll leave it here and say hopefully I'll post again and it won't be about weight, exercise, or cooking. ;)
Anyway, personal update! Well, sort of. As I've posted before (several times), I've been cooking more. My biggest problem has been breakfasts. I function better with a breakfast I've found. Who'd of thought? The person who is STILL not a morning person and never ate breakfast, now almost depends on a breakfast in the morning? Yeah. Me neither. Starting the calorie counting, I did the flavored yogurt (I did plain fat free Greek with a tablespoon or 2 of jelly mixed in) and granola. It kept me full for a while, but I got tired of it pretty quickly. Round 2 was no breakfast at all. Round 3 was homemade breakfast casseroles that were not particularly healthy, but they were tasty! Round 4 were green smoothies (of all sorts of varieties: kale, spinach, pineapple, banana, strawberry, cucumber, zucchini, almond butter, almond milk, apple, etc). Now, Round 5 is oatmeal!
Not just any oatmeal. I did do a warm apple cinnamon oatmeal in the crockpot and would reheat it in the morning, but...I got into overnight oats! Seriously, I thought it would be gross because it looks like cold oat mush and everyone eats oatmeal warm, right? Well, I took a chance and made a banana peanut butter one and it was delicious! Now I want to eat it all the time. Figures. :) It's easy to make and tastes good. Best thing? I can make it the night before and throw it into my lunch bag for work. Actually, every breakfast thing I ate/made has always been something I can pack for work the night before (that hating mornings thing and all :P ). It also stores in the refrigerator for a couple of days so I make 2-3 servings (~1 cup) at once. Hopefully I can get a few weeks out of this regimen and then I think I'll go back to the smoothies again.
Here's the recipe I started with...
Peanut Butter and Banana Overnight Oats from Domesticate Me (link here)
Ingredients
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed (about ½ cup)
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon light agave or honey (You may use more if you like sweeter oatmeal. Duh.)
- Sliced Bananas
- Drizzle of Agave, Maple Syrup or Honey
- Cinnamon
- Dark chocolate shavings or chips
- Coconut shavings
Optional Toppings:
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mash your banana with a fork.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into two airtight containers and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- When ready to eat, give the oats a good stir, add toppings of your choice, and dig in!
Now, a REAL personal update. The Breeders' Cup is in 1.5 months! Yes! It should be a really good one this year. It's unfortunate the Breeders' Cup Classic winner from last year isn't going to be there (he was injured), but there should be a lot of other great horses. Should be a great day! So, I'm excited. I got my dress from Goodwill that goes with my green and purple California Chrome hat and I've got shoes and a sweater that already go with it. So, I'm set on the outfit department. I just need to figure out my hair. I cut it and that hat is different than my last one so I need to look at hair styles. I might be lazy and just do a half-up and half-down look. It's quick, easy, will fit with the hat, etc.
Work has been okay. Some changes have been happening. I don't think I mentioned this, but we have a new boss for our area. So there has been that change and then we also have new trainees that work with us through a County program. So, it's been interesting, but nothing bad. On top of it all, Halloween! We've already set everything up for Halloween. It's been crazy, but the best Halloween set-up we've had since we've opened so that's been nice. The anxiety it induced the last 2 years is definitely not around this time so it's been more enjoyable.
Movies, I'm still watching them. At this rate, I might as well just do a massive recap at the end of the year that encompasses everything. :P I've been so bad this year! Then again, I feel like I have less time to actually blog too. Working, cooking dinner, prepping dinners, exercising, taking care of the pets, painting my nails...they all take up most of my evenings! I get my days off and they're planned solidly. Recent favorite...I surprisingly really liked Divergent. I was surprised. Perhaps it's because my expectations were low for it since I didn't like the book (never read past #1), but I liked the movie. I'd watch the 2nd one...on DVD... :P My resounding endorsement there! It's a solid movie, though. It's not as good as Hunger Games, but it pleasantly passed the time. Four is way too old compared to the book. The end is changed a bit too, but they always do that. So, it has its issues, but it wasn't terrible. Haven't seen a movie in theater in a while now. I think Guardians of the Galaxy was the last one I saw and I liked it. It was good. Not the best Marvel, but I'm really happy it's done as well as it has and I might buy it on DVD (it was that good). Plus...BABY GROOT! :P Noah is shaping up to be the worst movie of the year...
With that, I can't think of anything else going on so I think I'll leave it here and say hopefully I'll post again and it won't be about weight, exercise, or cooking. ;)
